At sunset in the streets of the ancient old town, the musical clubs of Zanzibar buzz with the joyful sounds of Taarab, the music of Zanzibar, whose style reflects two millennia of cultural exchange and the island’s place at the crossroads of the spice route. A vehicle of cultural identity and living tradition, the performance of Taarab is intrinsically linked to both the ceremonial and everyday life of the island. Its gentle rhythms accompany the listener at every step of existence- from the most solemn to the most blissful moments.
Featuring artists such as the midwife and healer Bi Kidude, one of the most revered of all Zanzibar Taabab singers, this documentary immerses us in the colour, warmth and diversity of Zanzibar’s little known Muslim culture and the Taarab poets – cultural custodians of a dynamic musical heritage that must assert itself in the face of tourism and economic change.